Monday, June 30, 2008

Cracker Barrel Ole Country Stores have another great album being released July 1st. They have already given us an excellent collection of albums such as Aaron Tippin, Alison Krauss, Alabama, and many more. Now, Ricky Skaggs gets his own exclusive release for the Cracker Barrel.

The new album is titled "Ricky Skaggs The High Notes: A Collection of his Greatest Hits from a Bluegrass Prospective." The title alone gave me a moment of excitement. Here we have 12 Skaggs classic songs reworked just a bit by Skaggs. Gave them a little uplift and a deep bluegrass tweak. The best way to explain is just one word: amazing.

his hits are great as they were, however, with Skaggs giving them just a little change here and there and using some great bluegrass instrumentation, these 12 songs sound even better than ever before.

Here is the track list:1) Crying My Heart Out Over You2) Heartbroke3) Highway 40 Blues4) I Wouldn't Change You If I Could5) You Got a Lover6) Cajun Moon7) Honey (Open That Door)8) Cat's In The Craddle9) Uncle Pen10) Country Boy11) Lovin' Only Me12) Somebody's Prayin'

If you are a fan of Skaggs or a few of his songs, this here is an absolute must own. It is absolutely great to hear some of his songs re-worked, by him, and honestly they really do sound even better than ever.

The album is in stores Tuesday July 1st. It is exclusive to Cracker Barrel, so it may be purchased in their restaurant country stores or online at www.crackerbarrel.com

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Alright, its my turn to weigh in on the Tim McGraw incident this week. I know I'm quiet late, but hey, I gotta talk about this one. I have read extensively about it, and I think it was handled well.

Now, I'm just reading what I can, pretty much the same stories you have probably already read yourself. Also, there a few audio clips out there of interviews.

Here is my thought on the scenario. They guy was drunk. He probably perceived in his mind that he was just pushing a bit through the crowd, when he was actually barreling through the crowd. The guy did not intentionally hurt anyone or anything like that. Tim McGraw looked down at that particular area of the crowd and at the particular time it appeared he was hitting the female. Tim saw what he saw, made the quick decision that he needed to get security over there and have the subject removed. The guy says he didn't know why he was pulled up on stage, so he raised his hand to give Tim a "high-five" and that's when Tim drew back like he was going to hit him. Luckily, Tim made another quick decision not to actually hit him. That is probably because Tim noticed he wasn't a threat anymore. End of story.

It was just a simple incident that occurred and seems overall that was exactly handled like it should have been. Tim handled the situation correctly in what he saw, the guy was probably drunk and truly thought he was being pulled on stage to dance or something.

I must say, Tim's timing was amazing, the next line of "Indian Outlaw" Tim sang was "I'm not looking for trouble.." wow.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Well, after a few days off from work and a trip to Philadelphia for my brother's wedding, and the previous week dealing with Cavalier Telephone, Comcast, and Directv, I think i am ready to get back to what I love most.

Please note on the blog and on the website my new e-mail address. countrymusicalive at gmail dot com, the previous address is now turned off as I have left Comcast totally.

I apologize for the lack of postings lately, however I am slowly getting back on to my normal schedule and can be ensured more great information, discussions, and interesting things upcoming both on the website and this blog.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

The sixth season of "Nashville Star" will premiere on NBC Monday, June 9 (9-11 p.m. ET) followed by 90-minute live episodes each week. This year, the longest-running cable reality competition series moves into the spotlight on NBC. With a bigger stage to play, the expectations become higher and the competition tougher as each contestant will turn to the celebrity panel that will not only judge them during the live shows, but will also provide a unique mentoring aspect to the series.

The above video is an awesome representation of what to expect.

Host Billy Ray Cyrus will join country music star, singer-songwriter and acclaimed producer John Rich and Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy nominee Jewel, along with BMI Songwriter of the Year (2006) Jeffery Steele, to bring their unique insights and experience to the show and its contestants. The winner or winners of this year's competition will receive a major recording contract with Warner Bros. Nashville and the performance of a lifetime when they take to the world's stage at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Will this work is the biggest question I've seen throughout the last few days in preparing for the season to begin. Its move from the USA Network is a big jump, and this year it will not be competition with American Idol for time. I believe this will help a lot. Also, the biggest thing is just one more way to expose even more people to country music.

Each season, well, most of the seasons, I've been glued to the TV to watch this series, and that's saying a lot due to I'm not that big of a TV watcher, but this series in the past has gotten me hooked.

The contestants themselves have not been announced quiet yet, but of course will be tomorrow. After tomorrow nights show, we certainly will have a good feel of whats to come. However, at the bottom is a preview of what to expect from them.

Ever wondered what is exactly the impact from an award show? I mean, we know the artists get recognized for winning the awards and its a time to celebrate the accomplishments from the past year. Its also a time for country music to have its time in prime time television. However, what other positive results become from an event of this magnitude?

Let's take a look at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast from May 18, 2008. Who really is impacted, not only fininacially, but overall, from a public relations standpoint.

First, the television network does in advertising sales. I'm sure they make a great deal of money during this event. 11.7 million viewers watched the show, in which was an increase of 26% over the past year's viewership. That made it the second-highest rated program throughout the 3-hour show. Not only financially pleasing, but solid viewership is a great thing for the network.Second, Dick Clark Productions is greatly impacted. Not only does a good show, with high viewership maintain there long- term realtionship with the ACM, it also has allowed for further exposure of country music with a partnership to develop new concert specials, possible country-themed reality sereies, and other programming opprutunities. Not only is this good for their businesses, its even better for continued country music exposure.

Third, The Academy of Country Music really gets a lot of exposure for their cause, the overall promotion of country music. This event is 3 of the biggest events in country music to promote the music. ACM Awards and the CMA's Awards and CMA Music Fest. This is the night that The ACM gets a chance to put the best of the best in a huge spotlight and just maybe make a fan or two, in which is good for all country music.

Fourth, The artists themselves get great exposure. That exposure leads to new fans of specific artists, new fans of country music, and oh yes, album sales. Before you say, there performances really don't turn into album sales, let me prove this to you. Carrie Underwood's sales for that week grew 58%, Rodney Atkins 73%, Miranda Lambert 52%. Even the most recognized country music artist Garth Brooks had a 33% increase in album sales. Pretty amazing.

Sugarland had a 72% increase and their current single "All I Want To Do" that was performed that night gave the duo their highest chart debut single at #27, even bigger than "Want To" that debuted at #36.

Now, hopefully you see the overall impact of an event of this nature. It isn't just about the awards or the three hours of television, rather sales and the biggest opprutunity for country music to be exposed to a massive audience....

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

XM subscribers, don't you dare miss the coverage of the CMA Music Festival on your XM Radio. If you are new to XM since last June, you are in for a treat. It is that time of year, what an awesome time of the year for country music. This is the week for country music fans, and if you aren't there in Nashville, XM has you covered. Every year, these are some incredibly special events to be able to listen in on via XM. This is why satellite radio is so special.

If I had to pick 3 from the list below that are "must listens" they would be...